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Julia Gillard says she tried to 'shine a light' on sexism, spoke to other female world leaders about issue

By David MackUpdated
Fri 20 Jun 2014, 5:05 PM AEST

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Julia Gillard and Hillary Clinton have spoken out about sexism.

Chip Somodevilla: AFP. File

Former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard has revealed she had a number of discussions with other female world leaders during her time in office about the challenges faced by women in powerful government positions.

Speaking on a nationally-syndicated US public radio program, Ms Gillard said she talked about "common and shared experiences" of sexism with several female leaders, including former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton.

"There are some common and shared experiences about being judged on appearance, about often being in rooms where you're the only woman, about not being treated instinctively with the same sense of seriousness or the view that you will have the same sense of gravitas as a male leader," Ms Gillard said.

In her new book, Ms Clinton singles out Ms Gillard's treatment by her former political opponents as an example of sexist conduct that "shouldn't be tolerated in any country".

Ms Gillard says she believes women in politics are held to a different standard than their male counterparts.

"I think for men that conversation [about leadership] starts with, 'what kind of leader will he be? Strong? Weak? Compassionate? Strident?' I think for women it starts with, 'can she lead?' And it's a subtle but significant difference," she said.

"Often times when women are treated in a sexist way, when comments are made - whether it be about their appearance, their hair, their body, their marital status, whatever it might be - you just swallow it," Ms Clinton said.

"You go on, you try not to let it bother you, maybe you deflect with humour, all of which are good tactics.

"But she just went right at it, and I respected that. I thought it was an important statement from a woman leader to make clear that this was behaviour that should not be tolerated."